Tale of Lost and Found
by Auburn Angel
Summary: Yep, it's me again, writing another Zelda Link romance, I dont think I can write anything else.. anyways this doesnt have anything to do with the other two stories I've got going. I wrote this a while back and I just came across it and thought I'd post i


  
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Tale of Lost and Found  
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(wow I really suck at this making up a title thing)  
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"In the beginning, Hyrule was simple. My story starts not at the very beginning, but at the mid-beginning, if there is such a thing. Anyway, Hyrule had been around for about a hundred years before it became a monarchy. There are no records before then, so we don't know much about that time-period. We do know, however, about the hundred years after Hyrule started. King Anik was one of the first rulers with his wife, Queen Delina.   
  
Let me tell you a little about Delina. She was very young at the time of her marriage to Anik, about sixteen. She was a very beautiful young woman, with long blonde hair and sparkling green eyes. Anik had instantly fallen in love with her, although she was mischievous, spunky, and adventurous. Or perhaps it was because she was mischievous, spunky, and adventurous that he fell in love with her.   
  
Anyway, my point is he did fall in love with her and she did for him. Anik's mother was very much against Delina and anything to do with her. Against his mother's wishes, Anik snuck off and married her, making her, at that time, the princess of Hyrule. When the queen found out, she was furious, some say she went a little mad (if you know what I mean). But I, personally, don't think she was 'all there' to begin with. In any case, she just up and disappeared one day and nobody knew what had happened to her. Anik became king (his father was killed years before) and Delina became queen. Soon they had their first and only child, a baby girl. On the day of the baby girl's birth, Delina looked down at her and knew she was special, going to be something extraordinary, and decided she needed a special, extraordinary name.  
  
"Zelda will be loved by many." Delina said as her sweet child slept.  
  
"Zelda?" Anik asked lovingly to his wife.  
  
"Yes, Zelda." She sighed. "What do you think of that name?"  
  
"I think it's beautiful, it fits perfectly." Anik smiled at the baby girl.  
  
For many years, they lived happy peaceful lives. Zelda was the center of Delina and Anik's lives. She was just like her mother in many ways. She had the same blonde hair, green eyes, and the same lively personality. Her spunkiness only increased as she grew older. She was a very zealous child and an even more zealous teenager. Her favorite thing to do was explore the woods, looking for mystery and excitement.  
  
One day, shortly after her thirteenth birthday, while she was exploring the woods, she got lost. She had been going around in circles and didn't have a clue to where she was. As it started to grow dark, she sat down on a tree stump and felt tears welling up in her eyes. Zelda was hungry, cold and frightened by the howling of the strange creatures in the woods. She put her head in her hands and sobbed.   
  
"Why are you crying?" asked a voice. Zelda looked up to see a boy, about her age, wearing green clothes and a funny hat, coming over to her.  
  
"I'm lost." She told him, wiping her tears away with the side of her arm.   
  
"I'll help you, I know my way around this place pretty well." He said to her. It was getting dark but Zelda could see that he had crystal blue eyes and blond hair.  
  
"Do you live here?" she asked curiously. Zelda was no longer afraid, something about this boy intrigued her.  
  
"I live right outside the lost woods, in the Kokiri." He pointed to the general direction.   
  
"You're an elf?" she giggled.  
  
"No, I'm a Kokirian." The boy said defensively.   
  
"Well, come on elf-boy, take me home." Zelda said amused. She stood up and he started walking, she followed and ran a little to catch up to him. "So elf-boy do you have a name?"  
  
"Link." He said shyly. "What's yours?"  
  
"Don't you know the princess of Hyrule, silly?" she said tossing her long hair over her shoulder. "I'm Zelda. Princess Zelda to you."   
  
"I should've figured." Link muttered.  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" Zelda stopped, putting her hands on her hips.  
  
"Well most princess, or any royalty for that matter, are considered snobbish."  
  
"You think I'm a snob?" Zelda asked in a hurt tone.   
  
"Well do you hear the way you've been talking to me? Like a royal pain in the a-"  
  
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." Zelda interrupted. "I really appreciate you helping me."  
  
Link started walking again. A wolfo howled and Zelda jumped and grabbed on to his arm.   
Link laughed. "A little scared, are we?"  
  
"Um, no, I was just...just... Yeah it scared me a little." Zelda admitted. Link laughed some more.  
  
"So, Princess, what brings you so far from home?" he asked, his arm still linked in hers.  
  
"I was exploring the woods. The castle is so boring, I'm just looking for a little excitement." She explained.   
  
"Did you find it?" he asked ducking under the branches of a long tree.  
  
"Well I found you. Are you exciting?"   
  
"More than you know."  
  
"I'm sure. So what were you doing out in the woods?" she asked.  
  
"Looking for a little excitement myself. My life is starting to get too boring, just thought I'd shake it up a bit." The reached the end of the woods. "I'll walk you home so you don't have to walk by yourself with all those wolfos out there."  
  
They smiled at each other and from that moment on, they were inseparable. Zelda was plenty punished for her little adventure, but after the punishment was over, they hung out every day. Link taught her the secrets of the Lost Woods, such as the hidden stream and the cave. He taught her how to sword fight, and tell directions by looking up at the sky and searching for the north star. In exchange, she became his best friend, and the closest thing to family he would ever have. Zelda had even helped him figure out that we wasn't really a kokirian at all.   
  
The never grew tired of each other and after a few years he was invited to live with them at the palace. Although they grew up, they never lost their audacity or playfulness.   
  
"Zelda, honey, Link is waiting for you outside." Delina told her. She watched her daughter give the mirror a quick glance, smooth out her dress and run out to greet him. Link was like part of the family to everyone around the castle.   
  
"Link? Link, where are you?" the now sixteen-year-old Zelda. Unexpectedly Link dropped from a high tree branch and nearly landed on Zelda.  
  
"Hiya." He said playfully.   
  
"Are you ever gonna grow up?" she grinned at him.   
  
"Not if I can help it." He said smiling back. They walked to the lost woods, making small talk the whole way.   
  
"I can't stay out to late today, I have possible suitors coming." She said when they had finally gotten to the lost woods, near the hidden stream. She smiled trying to mask the dejection she felt.  
  
"Suitors? Why?" Link asked, making a face.   
  
"Why? I'm sixteen years old, I'm to be married soon." She pointed out.  
  
"Ooh, lucky you." He said sarcastically. "Are you guys going to makeout like the couple in the village." He laughed and made kissing noises.   
  
"Yeah sure, Link. Whatever." She rolled her eyes.   
  
"I don't see what the big deal is." Link shrugged and tried to catch a fish in the stream with his hands.  
  
"Course you wouldn't." she remarked.  
  
"What? *You've* kissed someone, Miss high-and-mighty?" Link said, turning away from the fish.  
  
"No." she looked at the ground, "Have you?"  
  
"No."   
  
"Well maybe we should. Just to see what it's like." She added quickly.  
  
"We should what? Kiss?" he asked.   
  
"Maybe." She said. Link thought about it.  
  
"All right." He stood up and walked over to Zelda. "What? Am I just supposed to kiss you?"  
  
"No, Link, I want you to marry me first." Zelda rolled her eyes.  
  
"Ha ha." He said. He moved his face closer to hers, then stopped suddenly.  
  
"Well?" she asked impatiently.   
  
"I can't kiss you if you're gonna stare at me the whole time. Close your eyes or something." He said crossing his arms. Zelda sighed and closed her eyes. Link put his hands on her shoulders and gave her a peck on the lips. She opened her eyes and kissed him a little deeper. She stroked his hair and he wrapped his arms around her waist. Zelda pulled away.  
  
"Whoa." She breathed.   
  
"Yeah, whoa."   
  
"So what do you think now?" Zelda asked. Link didn't know what to say.  
  
"I think...you're 'it'." Link tagged her and backed up into lost woods. Zelda rolled her eyes, but couldn't help grinning. Link could be so immature. She started to run after him.   
  
"Li-ink!" she said, giggling, "this isn't funny!" She stopped and looked around, expecting him to pop out from behind something, of jump down from a tree. Her smile faded. "Link?"  
  
"Excuse me," A little old lady said, appearing out of nowhere. "Excuse me miss."  
  
"Yes?" Zelda asked, still trying to catch her breath.   
  
"Do you happen to know where the stream is? I seem to be turned around." The old lady studied Zelda. Blonde hair, green eyes, spunky personality, it had to be, it just had to.  
  
"It's over that way." Zelda said pointing to where she had just come from.   
  
"Thank you, dear. Are you by any chance related to Anik and Delina?"   
  
"Yes. I'm their daughter, Princess Zelda." She smiled at the old lady.  
  
"You look just like your mother." She said and started to wobble away towards where Zelda had pointed. Zelda watched her until she disappeared.  
  
"Link, I'm staying right here." Zelda sat down stubbornly. She picked a flower and smelled it, then plucked off all its petals in boredom. It wasn't long before Link came strutting back.   
  
"Zel, how come you didn't find me?" he asked sitting next to her. She stuck her nose up in the air and didn't answer. "Zel-da." He said exasperatedly. He brushed her hair behind her ear and turned her face towards his. "You're trying to laugh, I can tell."   
  
She pressed her lips together, but Link gave her a look, and she started giggling. "You are *so* immature." She lay back on the ground. "Can't even deal with one grown up situation."  
  
Link scoffed at her, "I can too."  
  
"Sure you can." She sighed, "I better head back. Are you coming?"  
  
"I guess." He muttered, still fretting over her comment.  
  
He stood and helped her up. They walked back slowly, not talking, both thinking about what was to come.  
~~~  
  
Unbeknownst to them, the old lady who Zelda helped in the woods was brewing up trouble. Literally. She hobbled around her small hut gathering ingredients for her potion. She could scarcely believe she had run into Delina and Anik's daughter. She cackled evilly as she put the last ingredients and stirred it. If she couldn't stop Anik and Delina, she could stop their descendents from finding their true love.  
  
Now I know what you must be thinking. 1) Why would she try to hurt Zelda, who was innocent in all this? And 2) Why didn't she do this in the first place to Anik and Delina?  
  
The answers to these questions are simple. 1) She wasn't exactly right in the mind. Because of the death of her husband (Anik's father) at such a young age, and so early in their relationship and years of mourning over it, she hated the idea of anybody being happy, even her own son and granddaughter. And 2) Maybe she wasn't nearly as crazy back then, in her younger days. Or perhaps she didn't have the proper ingredients or something, whatever the reason, that's what she did.  
~~~  
Meanwhile Zelda was sat in her room brushing her hair, looking into the mirror, but not seeing the reflection. It had been an unusual night, she wasn't used to princes trying to flatter her. It was pretty late but she wasn't tired. She heard the quiet rapping at her door.   
  
"Come on in." she called, putting her brush down. The door slowly opened and Link walked it. "Oh, hey."  
  
"Hey. I was wondering if you were still awake." He said looking at the floor and kicking and invisible something with his foot.   
  
"Yeah, I'm pretty surprised you're up." She said, looking at him funny.   
  
"Yeah..." he paused, "How did everything go tonight?"  
  
"It went well." She said. "What's wrong with you? You're acting funny."  
  
"I feel funny." He said walking around, still not taking his eyes off the ground. "My stomach feels weird." He sat on the edge her bed.  
  
"Are you getting sick?" she asked, coming over and sitting next to him. He looked up at her, and with his finger, moved a strand of hair away from her face and behind her ear.   
  
"I can't stop thinking about you. Whenever I close my eyes I see you, and a couple hours ago when I was practicing archery I kept missing the target 'cause I couldn't concentrate. I can't think of anything but you. I think I'm in love with you." She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He stroked her cheek with her thumb and kissed her. She kissed him back, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly. They broke apart and Link put his forehead against hers.   
  
"Goodnight, princess." He whispered. He stood up.  
  
"Don't leave." She tugged on his shirt and pulled him closer. He tripped, and Zelda started laughing at him. He toppled against her, pushing her down on the bed. Their laughing died away as emotions got intense. He kissed her roughly on her lips. Link pulled himself away and stood up.  
  
"'Night, Zel." He said softly to her. He walked to the door, and paused before leaving.  
  
"Goodnight, Link." She called.   
  
Link leaned against the door for a second, he wanted more than anything to go back in. A grin spread across his face and he sighed happily. Delina watched him exit from the shadows of the corridor. She knew they would learn that they loved each other; it was just a matter of time.  
~~~~~~~   
  
Back in the hut the old woman, chanted words over the potion. It was almost complete. All it needed was to be poured onto the princess. That would have to wait till tomorrow.   
  
Then next day Link and Zelda went walking in the lost woods, like they did almost everyday. Except this time, they were hand -in-hand. They walked through the woods, and by the stream. Link picked a lily and put it behind Zelda's ear. They leaned in to kiss when suddenly Zelda and Link were drenched with something reddish and stinky. Zelda looked up to see the old hag she had helped the day before, with an empty container.  
  
"Oh my, I'm so sorry dear." The lady said looking at the ground.  
  
"What was that?" Zelda asked, crinkling her nose.  
  
"It was just some magic potion for my plants, I accidentally tripped over that stump..." she trailed off. "I'm so sorry."  
  
"That's ok." Zelda said. The potion was starting to sting her skin.   
  
"Hey, Zel, how about a swim?" Link jumped into the river. It was starting to burn, so Zelda jumped in after. They swam around, and the hag disappeared into the woods. They swam around, splashing and laughing, until they started to get cold. Link climbed out and sat on the side. Zelda followed.   
  
"I don't think that was plant potion. Aren't most of the plant potions green?" Zelda said, "And it hurt, a lot."  
  
"Yeah, I don't know. It was probably made from Nula Plants. What kinds of potions are red?"   
  
"Beats me." Zelda said, ringing out her hair. "Oh well, let's go back to the castle and change." Zelda suggested. Link agreed.   
  
Back at the castle, in dry clothes, Zelda sat next to Link on the castle steps. Zelda snuggled closer to Link. She looked up and kissed him. Link smiled at her, but when she looked away, he made a face.   
  
"So, Link, on my seventeenths birthday I have to get married. Do you have any suggestions?" she smiled coyly.  
  
"Um, Prince Drake?" Link suggested, biting his lip.  
  
"Funny, Link." She studied his expression, "You were kidding, right? I mean you do want to marry me?"  
  
Link didn't know what to say.  
  
"But Link, I love you. And yesterday you said you loved me." She said looking up at him pitifully.   
  
"I'm sorry, Zel. I just don't feel that way anymore. I'm sorry." He gave her a sympathetic glance. Zelda's mouth dropped open. She slowly got up and walked away, feeling the tears welling up in her eyes.   
  
It took Zelda a long time to get over Link. But on her seventeenth birthday she got married to a young Prince named Mathis. Link and Zelda's friendship grew cold, and after a couple of years, they didn't even acknowledge each other anymore.  
  
I'm not saying Zelda ever got totally over Link. She still felt a pang in her chest when she saw him, and even had dreams about him at times. She did suspect something about the hag, but her parents thought she was just upset over Link, and assured her that it had nothing to do with it.   
  
The goddesses weren't pleased with the hag or her actions. The hag had tried to messed with destiny, but destiny can not be messed with. The goddesses looked down upon the heartbroken Zelda and made the promise that she would end up with Link, even if it took more than one lifetime.   
  
The first Zelda and Link never ended up together. Neither did the second Zelda and Link. In that relationship Link loved Zelda, but she thought he was conceited. The third Link was in love with another girl, so that Link and Zelda didn't end up together. However, the fourth Link and Zelda did manage to break the spell. Nobody is sure why that time was different. Possibly, it was because their love was too strong or maybe Nayru, Din, and Farore, just decided that it was time for Zelda and Link to be together. But nevertheless, they did. They got happily married. Link became King of Hyrule, and they had three beautiful children."   
  
Impa smiled at the three children. Zaida, Kael, and Lorika grinned at each other. Hidden in the shadows, Zelda smiled and hugged Link tightly. He kissed the top of her head.   
  
"Is that a true story?" Zaida asked.   
  
"Of course it is." Impa told her, "Now I think it is time for you guys to get to bed. You have a busy day tomorrow."  
  
"Just one more story, Impa, please?" Lorika begged.  
  
"I tell you another tomorrow, if you're good." Impa said hugging Lorika.   
  
"Can tomorrow's story be an action story? Like with sword fighting and stuff?" Kael asked. Impa smiled.  
  
"Of course, young prince, I know tons of those."  
  
Zelda and Link walked in the room. "I think it's time to sleep. Get into bed and your father and I will come kiss you goodnight in a moment."   
  
They watched as the twins Kael and Lorika scrambled off their feet and into their room. Zeida, the oldest, got up slowly.  
  
"Thank you for telling us the story, Impa." She said walking to her room.   
  
"My pleasure." She returned and watched her leave.   
  
"Let's go tuck them in," Link said to Zelda.  
  
"Ok, in a second," Zelda turned to Impa, "Was that story true, Impa? Did it really happen that way?"   
  
Impa gave her a mysterious smile, "Of course."   
  
She got up and left, "Goodnight Zelda, goodnight, Link."   
  
Zelda gave Link a curious look and he shrugged and laughed.   
  
"Come on, let's go tell the kids goodnight," Link said putting his arm around her waist. Zelda sighed. It didn't matter if the story was true or not. They were together and as happy as ever. And that was all that mattered. Zelda and Link tucked in all of their beloved children into bed and headed off together arm in arm. Both knew it was worth it, even if it had taken four lifetimes.   
  
  
  
A/N  
Ok, ok. I know this fic probably contradicts everything true about Zelda. This was actually the first Zelda story I wrote, but at the time I was too chicken to let anyone read it. I've only played the video games, so there's lots of Zelda history and stuff I don't know (or didn't at the time). But, hey you have to admit, it was kind of cute. Maybe? Oh well, let me know what you think! Unless it's a flame, I don't like flames :)  
  
  
  
  
  



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